Chapter 65

I hurriedly ran over to Sharine and took her to the nearest restroom.

“I guess I need to get her some water or something.”

It seemed she didn’t even know her own limits. At this rate, she’d be suffering from a hangover tomorrow.

I went downstairs to the lodging to get some water.

Just as I grabbed a bottle of magically preserved water—

I spotted a familiar face.

“Ah.”

She also recognized me and let out a short sound. Among her honey-blonde hair, I could see her slightly flushed cheeks.

The sweet scent of alcohol wafted from her, tickling my nose. It seemed, just as Sharine said, that Isabel had also drunk quite a bit.

‘She looks more put together than Sharine, though.’

At that moment, Isabel covered her face with her hands.

“Ah, um, I only had a little because of the atmosphere, you know?”

Isabel looked so flustered. I felt a strange sensation from her actions.

‘This seems to be more than just fond feelings.’

I wondered if there were other emotions at play.

“Isabel.”

As I tossed her the water bottle, she caught it with her hands.

“Let’s talk for a bit.”

“Uh, huh?”

She looked wide-eyed, clearly surprised that I was initiating a conversation.

“Before that.”

I pointed up.

“I need to take the drunkard to the room.”

Let’s move Sharine, who had turned into a dolphin in the restroom, first.

＊＊＊

After safely getting Sharine to her room, I walked out with Isabel onto the terrace outside.

The summer’s familiar sounds of insects echoed around us. In the distance, the blue sea sparkled under the starlight.

Swoosh—

The sound of waves carried on the breeze was comforting. I took in the view of the sea before turning my head.

There stood Isabel, enjoying the summer breeze, looking somewhat revived from her drunken stupor.

Wearing a simple outfit with a cardigan, Isabel appeared beautiful like a painting. As expected of the main heroine, she had remarkable beauty.

Yet she didn’t meet my gaze. Rather, she was avoiding eye contact with me.

I, who had been staring at her, finally spoke.

“Isabel.”

“Ah, yes.”

Isabel responded a beat later.

After a brief silence, I asked, “Why are you avoiding my eyes?”

Isabel flinched, wrapping her arms around herself defensively.

“… Who’s avoiding?”

“Just today alone! At the beach, or when drinking afterwards.”

Isabel bit her lip. She turned red as if embarrassed that I saw right through her.

I watched Isabel for a moment before leaning my back against the terrace railing.

“Tell me. If there’s a reason, I’ll listen.”

“……”

Normally, she might have just turned away, but perhaps thanks to the alcohol, Isabel didn’t turn around right away.

She opened and closed her lips repeatedly, struggling to find her words.

After a moment of silence, she finally managed to speak.

“… I don’t want to disappoint you.”

Disappointed?

I looked at Isabel with a puzzled expression at her words. She turned away, her face even redder than before.

The night breeze blew gently again.

Golden threads danced like the Milky Way across the night sky.

The scent of the sea tickled my nose. Mixed in with that was the sweet scent of Isabel and the smell of alcohol.

“… You know, it’s embarrassing, but I’ve thought of you as a rival.”

She was thinking the same thing I was.

“I don’t like how you speak ill of Lucas, but I admire your resolve. Honestly, I wanted to move forward like you.”

Alcohol makes people honest. Especially, once the reins on the lips are loosened, it becomes hard to stop.

“But now that I see you enjoying yourself with the kids, I started to wonder if this is really right.”

Isabel gave a bittersweet smile.

It was a kind of obsession. Isabel didn’t perish and was able to live again because she formed a rival relationship with me.

In that situation, if she casually enjoyed herself, she couldn’t accept it within herself.

“That’s a pointless worry.”

And I bluntly stated that it was unnecessary.

Isabel shot me a slightly irritated look.

“I’m also having fun right now!”

Isabel blinked rapidly.

Right now, as she rested, I was also relaxing here in the same resort as her.

“Isn’t that enough?”

“… That’s because I’m falling behind.”

“Even if you train for one more day, I’m not someone you can catch up to.”

In truth, I didn’t exactly feel like I was ahead. It was just Isabel’s perception that made her think so.

“Isabel, everyone needs to rest sometimes. I don’t know exactly how you feel, but at least you should have the chance to ensure you’re on the right path.”

“……”

Isabel, who had been mulling over my words, suddenly let out a small laugh.

When I frowned, Isabel waved her hands in apology.

“No, it’s just that this is the first time you’ve been kind to me.”

“… I was just put off by how you’re so dense.”

“Right, that must be it.”

As she said that, Isabel glanced out at the night sea.

“… Well, you are dating Hania, so I can just catch up in the midst of that.”

Isabel giggled, the alcohol evident in her laughter.

But underneath that smile was bitterness and loneliness.

“Sorry, but that won’t happen.”

So I decided to slightly burst her bubble.

“Dating Hania is just fake.”

“Huh?”

“It’s just a matter of circumstance. Do you think Hania would really date someone like me?”

Unlike the others, I felt it was best to give Isabel a heads-up.

If she aimed at me as her target, I needed to be a goal high enough that she couldn’t reach.

Only then could we maintain our rivalry going forward.

“More than anything, I have no intention of dating anyone.”

I’m not Hanon, after all. It would be rude for me to date someone in this state.

Isabel blinked her large eyes rapidly.

After a brief silence, she slowly began to smile.

“Ah, I see now.”

That smile somehow seemed refreshing.

My eyes opened wide in surprise.

Inadvertently, I opened my mouth before closing it again.

‘This is…’

Sharine could easily mistake this for love.

Isabel was in a psychologically unstable state. This was due to losing the support of Lucas.

I filled that void with anger and resentment.

Isabel had been enduring that anger and resentment for half a semester.

And in that process, she relied on me, the target of her anger and resentment.

My notion of wanting to be a moon in place of Lucas, the sun, turned out to be spot on.

“After all, it seems you…”

But just then, an unexpected result emerged from Isabel.

There’s a term called ‘affection and resentment.’

A psychological state that holds both love and hate at the same time.

It indicates that affection and hatred are just a paper-thin difference from each other.

You could wake up one day harboring hatred for someone you once cherished.

Conversely, you could find affection for someone you deeply hated.

“… I feel like you’ll stick around, not leaving my side.”

Feelings are that complex.

“Ah, I mean, staying by your side means interacting with you.”

Isabel psychologically needed to rely on me.

Even if that was a terrible emotion like anger and resentment.

She had to lean on me to live.

And in that process, I became too deeply embedded within her.

‘The innate possessiveness and desire to monopolize that people have.’

The feelings originally meant for Lucas had somehow been displaced onto me.

‘So that’s what Sharine meant when she said Isabel sees me and Lucas overlapped.’

Isabel still wasn’t healed.

She was merely enduring by overlapping her view of me with Lucas.

If I were to disappoint her and leave her, she wouldn’t withstand that sense of loss again.

That’s why she’s been doing her best thus far.

‘When she heard that Hania and I were dating.’

The unease that Sharine felt from Isabel was not jealousy but rather an anxiety over whether I would somehow withdraw my attention from her.

‘That day, when the kids asked about the relationship with the class, and she got furious.’

Maybe that was her psychology manifesting unconsciously.

Isabel’s eyes met mine again.

Hers sparkled brightly with a smile.

“I feel like I’ve been talking too much today. It’s probably because I’m a bit tipsy, so you don’t have to take it too seriously.”

Was that smile truly bright?

I felt there wasn’t any light in her eyes.

But there was no immediate solution in sight for Isabel either.

Really, is this direction okay?

Her smile was bright to the point that it made me wonder.

When I eventually realize that I’m not like Lucas, will she be able to endure it?

I have no idea.

Swoosh—

The sound of waves from the night sea echoed within my doubts.

＊＊＊

Perhaps because Isabel’s smile stayed with me yesterday, I had a restless night.

“Haah—”

I let out a yawning sigh filled with fatigue and slowly sat up.

As I did, Iris, who was curled up next to me, let go of my arm.

I tucked her in properly so she wouldn’t get cold and quietly slipped out.

From the opposite bed, Hania lay sleeping with an expression full of resentment.

It seemed she was pretty upset about losing her spot next to Iris.

I wondered if I would soon get stabbed by her jealousy.

As I stepped outside, the morning air greeted me warmly.

I stretched and, following my usual routine, started jogging outside.

Now, if I skip a day of running, it feels oddly uncomfortable.

As I ran along the coast, I noticed a few others out jogging besides me.

Well, everyone here were students from Jerion Academy.

It was natural that they had developed training habits.

‘Refreshing.’

Morning runs clear your mind.

It seemed like the frustration from my conversation with Isabel last night was dissipating a bit, too.

Patter— pat—

Just then, I heard footsteps coming up beside me from my side.

Someone jogging in the morning had caught up to me.

They were running hard.

I shifted to the side to give them space, but they didn’t evade me and instead kept pace right next to me.

Realizing this, I glanced over in confusion.

There was a boy with short black hair.

My eyes widened in astonishment at his face.

“Hey, this is our first time meeting face to face.”

He beamed at me as soon as we made eye contact.

Oh boy.

‘While I thought they’d send someone from the 1st Prince’s side, I never expected it would be this kid.’

It turned out to be none other than Hanon Irey himself.

Not me, the real Hanon Irey.